Palakkad Fort is an old fort situated in the heart of

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...

city of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

state, southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It was recaptured and rebuilt grandly by Sultan Hyder Ali in 1766 A.D and remains one of the best-preserved forts in

History

The Palakkad Fort is said to have existed from very ancient times but believed to be constructed in the present form in 1766 A.D, but little is known of its early history. The local ruler, '' Palakkad Achchan'', was originally a tributary of the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited ...

but had become independent before the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1757 he sent a deputation to

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

seeking help against an invasion threatened by the Zamorin.

seized upon the opportunity to gain possession of a strategically important location such as Palghat and from that time until 1790 the fort was continually in the hands of the Mysore Sultans or the British. It was first taken by the latter in 1768 when Colonel Wood captured it during his raid on

's fortresses, but it was retaken by Hyder a few months later. It was recaptured by Colonel Fullarton in 1783, after a siege that lasted eleven days but was abandoned the following year. It later fell into the hands of the

's troops. In 1790 it was finally captured by the British under Colonel Stuart. It was renovated and was used as a base for operations that ended with the storming of

Srirangapatnam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

. The fort continued to be garrisoned until the middle of the 19th century. In the early 1900s, it was converted into a

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

office.Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 359.

Current status

There is a large ground between the Fort and the Palakkad Townhall, known as '' Kota Maidanam'' (Fort Maidan/Fort Grounds). The ground is now used to stage cricket matches, exhibitions, and public meetings. An open-air

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...

called ''"Rappadi"'', currently under the preservation of the

Archeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

, is also located within the spacious grounds of the Fort. Additionally, there is a children's park on one side of the Fort.This children's park is known by the name "Vatika" , which has a beautiful garden alongside outdoor playground equipments for kids.

Interior

The Palakkad Special Sub Jail is also located within the fort. There is a small shrine dedicated to Lord Hanuman known as ''Anjaneya Swamy temple'', The temple is situated on the Eastern entrance of the fort, Figure Anjaneya is carved on the inner side of the fort wall. The murti of Lord Anjaneya is south facing, while the lord himself is facing west. It is believed that Tipu and his warriors worshipped the lord to protect them from all enemies. A garden called ''Vatika-Shilavatika'' is maintained inside the court.

Satellite image of the fort

Image gallery

File: Khasakinte Ithihasam of O.V.Vijayan in stones at the Palakkad Fort.jpg, O.V.Vijayan Characters File: Palakkad Fort 9.jpg, Mango Tree File: Palakkad Fort 1.jpg, inside the fort File: Palakkad Fort 3.jpg, View from the bridge File: Palakkad Fort3.jpg, Skiing space File: Palakkad Fort in Kerala.jpg, Inuksuk from V.K.Rajan, Thrissur https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO6JWIjp2dQLIHBa4Oz_S8c1vL53N6EBxA0wiFg dileepthenur

References

External links

Palakkad Fort Official Website

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